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Key Upgrades in the Off-Season

The Knicks organization and front office in particular, should be applauded for what it has done so far this offseason.

They have managed to keep a core of 6 players in Anthony, Stoudemire, Chandler, JR, Shumpert, and Novak, but where the front office has been more impressive is with the next 4 spots that are filling out their roster.

The 4 players, Kidd, Felton, Brewer and Camby, were brought in to replace Lin, Davis, Fields, and Jeffries are very impressive moves.

Here is a breakdown of statistics for the Guards they had last year as a group vs. this year’s additions (Lin, Davis, Fields vs. Felton, Kidd, and Brewer) per 36 minutes played over their careers.

These statistics clearly show the players the Knicks have picked up this season are more of the true PG/SG. As a combination, Felton, Kidd and Brewer have more experience in regular season and playoff games, average more assists per 36 minutes, less turnovers and shoot better from the free throw line. They are only .02% behind in field goal percentage and .1% behind average steals.

They are behind in average points scored and shooting percentage from beyond the arc, but overall I would rather have guards that have playoff experience, have a better assist to turnover ratio and are able to find the shooters rather than score themselves.

As for the replacement of Jeffries, Marcus Camby in my opinion was a steal. Yes, Camby’s a little over the hill, but has Jeffries really been that reliable for the Knicks organization? Camby makes Jeffries look insufficient when you look at the statistics per 36 minutes played.